‘Aladdin Junior’ takes the stage at Draper Historic

The small stage at Draper Historic Theatre packed a big
punch during its production of “Aladdin Junior.” The show, which opened on
April 7, is based off the Disney animated movie but is condensed and changed
slightly to be suitable for young performers. Dozens of young children and
teens brought the story to life under the guidance of director Todd Taylor.

Taylor has directed at Draper Historic before but this production
was a quick turnaround, with auditions held only six weeks before opening
night.

“It was the timing between getting ‘The Little Mermaid’
(done) and making sure we had the rights (to ‘Aladdin Junior’) and then holding
auditions,” Taylor said.

Taylor said there were a couple different reasons the board
chose to do “Aladdin Junior,” including Taylor’s personal preference.

“It’s my favorite show. ‘Aladdin’ is my favorite show so
that’s one reason,” Taylor said. “Two, they wanted to do a junior show. We all
voted as a board and decided that ‘Aladdin Junior’ would be the one.”

A junior show is a production that takes a well-known play
or concept, such as “Aladdin” or “Seusical” and condenses it and simplifies the
plot so the cast can be young performers.

Because “Aladdin Junior” is only 60 minutes long, the Draper
Historic added a variety pre-show to the production. A small cast sang various
songs from Disney movies, including “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from “The
Lion King,” “I’ll Make a Man Out Of You” from “Mulan” and “I See the Light”
from “Tangled.” This was the first time the Draper Historic has done one of
these pre-shows.

“The executive producer, Marc Navez, wanted to have a little
pre-show to kind of give it a little bit more time so people can enjoy a show
for a little bit longer than 60 minutes,” Taylor said. “He held the auditions
and did the choreography and song and dance. It was only a two-week process for
that.”

In directing such a large and young cast in “Aladdin
Junior,” Taylor said his priority was making sure the kids knew their parts and
where they were supposed to be on stage.

“I wanted to make sure their costumes were to theme and
ready for the opening and then also making sure that we transformed the stage
to look like Agrabah,” Taylor said. “We had a month to make sure all the kids
knew when they were to come on stage and their blocking and all of the dance
numbers. I think they did pretty good.”

Taylor’s favorite part of the
show was the musical number “A Whole New World.”

“They come out and we have the clouds and they stand up and
dance on the clouds,” Taylor said. “I love that part.”